Table 1.
Baseline data of patients before treatment
| Surgical fixation group (n = 23) | Conservative treatment group (n = 29) | P-value | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gender (male/female) | 21/8 | 16/7 | >0.5 |
| Age (years) | 57.8 ± 12.0 | 59.5 ± 9.9 | >0.10 |
| Mean number of rib fracture (n) | 7.8 ± 1.5 | 7.4 ± 1.7 | >0.10 |
| Grade of lung contusion | 1.24 | 1.21 | >0.5 |
| Type of flail segment | |||
| Anterolateral flail segment (n) | 7 | 10 | |
| Posterolateral flail segment(n) | 16 | 19 | |
| Causes | |||
| car accident | 17 | 21 | 1.000 |
| Fall injury | 4 | 5 | |
| crush injury | 2 | 2 | |
| Blow injury | 0 | 1 | |
| Type of rib fracture | |||
| bilateral | 2 | 3 | 1.000 |
| Unilateral | 21 | 26 | |
| Combined injury | |||
| Spleen rupture | 1 | 2 | 1.000 |
| subarachnoid hemorrhage | 1 | 0 | 0.442 |
| Pneumothorax | 12 | 16 | 0.829 |
| Pulmonary laceration | 3 | 0 | 0.160 |
| Sternal fracture | 1 | 0 | 0.442 |
| Limb fracture | 9 | 6 | 0.145 |
| Pelvic fracture | 3 | 5 | 0.976 |
| Clavicle fracture | 7 | 8 | 0.822 |
| Myocardial injury | 2 | 0 | 0.191 |
| Mediastinal emphysema | 1 | 2 | 1.000 |
| Shock | 2 | 3 | 1.000 |
| Tracheal rupture | 0 | 1 | 1.000 |